Zinnemann's "High Noon"

Essay # 25241

Film > Analysis, Criticism, Etc.
Film > Artist

This paper look at the film genre of the Western and more specifically at the film "High Noon", directed by Fred Zinnemann.

964 words () | 1 source | MLA | 2002 United States

Paper Summary:

The writer asserts that the strength of the film "High Noon" is the way in which it takes the simple and makes it complex. The themes in the film seem obvious - good vs. evil, strength of the individual to overcome all odds - but Zinnemann subtly adds elements of gray to give the film more depth. The paper shows how this added depth allows the film to explore fundamental truths.

From the Paper:

"The American identity is represented in High Noon through the similar themes that make the Western genre: empowerment of the individual, nature vs. development, freedom. One of the key ideas that makes us American is the idea of being able to start over or anew; that we can always go back, move forward, or just go somewhere else - physically or psychologically to make life better or start fresh. It's a theme that runs through American literature as well as American film. Jay Gatsby is an example of psychologically being able to start over in one of the greatest works of Am. Lit. Or, as Belton states, Fenimore Cooper shows this through his Natty Bumppo character and Bumppo's choice to leave his civilized world in order to embrace the natural world and culture of his Native American friend Chingachgook in his Leather Stalkings tales series."